


You Can't Cuddle A Fish

by sunny_seize



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Boys Kissing, Cats, College, Dogs, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Graduate Student Kuroo Tetsurou, In Home Security Cameras, M/M, Pet Sitting, Undergraduate Student Sakusa Kiyoomi, University Student Kuroo Tetsurou, University Student Sakusa Kiyoomi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:26:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29458965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunny_seize/pseuds/sunny_seize
Summary: Kuroo needs extra cash. Sakusa needs a pet sitter. How will this end?
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Sakusa Kiyoomi
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	You Can't Cuddle A Fish

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be for SaKuro Week Day 7, but I'm bad with deadlines

Kuroo was busy enough with his graduate studies. He didn’t need to add anymore to-do things onto his plate, but he needed the money. So, when Kenma suggested he should try Rover, he agreed. He loved animals, and pet sitting was like his dream job. Well, dream-job that didn’t require a degree.

He would have owned his own pets if his apartment and schedule allowed for it, but he was too busy to justify anything bigger than a fish. And you couldn’t cuddle a fish. (He still attempted to own one his first year of his graduate program, but his fish hadn’t had a long lifespan. After crying over his fish’s demise for an entire week, Kuroo decided that fish ownership wasn’t for him.)

So, Rover.

He had many requests after Kenma posted a stellar review of Kuroo’s capabilities, observed when Kuroo cat-sit for Kenma. Kuroo started receiving incoming client requests after Kenma’s review. Soon enough, Kuroo had to be selective about which requests he accepted because Tokyo was a busy place, and there were many people who needed their pets checked up on.

Then, one innocuous week after the semester began, Kuroo was surprised by a request he had received from someone who lived in a rich area in Tokyo. Like really rich. Like, Kuroo wasn’t sure he could walk into that area without wearing a three-piece suit rich.

He looked at the request immediately after receiving it. Sakusa was requesting one day of pet sitting. He had one cat and one dog. Both were adorable, which made Kuroo look at the request details.

Sakusa said he would be out of town on Thursday next week, and if Kuroo would check on his pets ‘once in the morning and once in the evening for an hour each time’ that would be great.

Kuroo accepted the request. Thursdays were his easy days. He didn’t even have to go in for his lab work because his undergraduate lab partners were there to help with the experiment. He usually had to fix their mistakes on Friday, but Kuroo had to be there on Fridays for his weekly scheduled updates with his mentor anyway.

Ergo, he was going to take care of Sakusa’s pets, because  _ fuck  _ were they adorable.

~*~*~*~

Sakusa’s Rover dinged with a message minutes after he sent out the request. Sakusa liked promptness.

He glanced at his phone and was pleased to find an accepted notice and a message.

Kuroo: Hello, Sakusa-san. Your cat and dog are adorable. Can I get their names? Also, would you prefer a specific time that I come visit your pets? The request mentioned that your dog will need to be walked. If you need me to come three times instead of two, I am willing to negotiate.

Straight to the point. Sakusa liked that too. So far, this Kuroo was living up to his reviews. He had chosen this particular Rover pet sitter for the fact that he was highly regarded in the reviews. There had only been three negative reviews, and all of them were replied to by Kuroo. All of them had written negative reviews because Kuroo wouldn’t pet sit for them again. Kuroo had been professional, and something about his replies prompted Sakusa to request his services. Sakusa continued to be impressed.

Sakusa: Kuroo-san, thank you for the prompt reply. My cat’s name is Satoshi, and my dog’s name is Hideko. If it is possible, I would like you to visit at 8:00 and 18:30. Hideko likes to take his walks in the evening, if you would rather have his walk be earlier, I am willing to discuss compensation for a third visit.

He phone dinged a few minutes later.

Kuroo: My Thursdays are usually open, so I can come three times. Um, I don’t usually offer to do this, but if you wanted me to stay there the whole day, it might save me the trouble of making multiple trips. I’ll negotiate for my day rate too, which will be cheaper than three trips. If not, that’s cool. I can just visit three times. I get worried about the dogs I dog sit for when they don’t have access to the outside to go as they please. For, you know, bathroom purposes.

Sakusa raised an eyebrow. He continued to be impressed.

Sakusa: Of course. What are your day rates compared to having you visit three times? That is very considerate of you, Kuroo-san.

Kuroo: You live quite a ways away from where I reside, so I would charge 2200 yen for each visit for travel and time spent, so 6600 yen total. For a day visit, I would charge a day fee of 5300 yen. This means that I would take Hideko out whenever he needs to go, as well as spend time with both animals.

Sakusa: That is acceptable to me, Kuroo-san. A day visit will work. Thank you for your consideration.

Kuroo: No problem! I look forward to meeting Hideko and Satoshi. What day works best for you?

Sakusa: You mentioned your Thursdays are free. This upcoming Thursday, I will be available in the afternoon. 14:00?

Kuroo: Yeah, that works! I’ll meet you outside your building at 14:00 this Thursday. Have a great day, Sakusa-san!

Sakusa: You as well, Kuroo-san.

With the details worked out, Sakusa put his phone away. He was impressed so far, but he had yet to meet the guy in person. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be aversive to cleanliness.

Sakusa turned back to his school work. Time to get started.

~*~*~*~

Kuroo stared up at the apartment complex in front of him. He felt underdressed. He felt so underdressed. Why did he think dark wash jeans and a long sleeve Henley was a good idea? Because it wasn’t.

And then he saw Sakusa. At least, he thought it was Sakusa. He was holding a leash attached to a very handsome boy that vaguely looked like Hideko.

Kuroo confirmed that he stuck out like a sore thumb as soon as Sakusa saw him, because Sakusa immediately walked over to him and introduced himself.

Obviously, Kuroo had to be the dog sitter, because who the fuck lived in a neighborhood like this and dressed like Kuroo?

Except then Kuroo scanned his eyes over Sakusa’s figure as the other approached. Hot didn’t even begin to describe the man. He had curly dark hair, and two moles over his eye. He was well dressed, but the tracksuit he was wearing was bright yellow and lime green. Questionable taste, but taste that screamed high-end clothing for workout clothes. Speaking of, he was built but not bulky, and he was tall. As tall as Kuroo. Both were surprised when they easily met each other’s eyes.

Sakusa wore a mask, but Kuroo guessed he had to be hot. Who wouldn’t be stunningly attractive when their body looked that good?

Fuck, Kuroo was lusting after a client. Well, at least he was only dog and cat sitting for him. He wouldn’t actually see him again after this initial meet up to introduce Kuroo to his pets.

“Kuroo Tetsurou?” Fuck, Sakusa’s voice was like velvet to Kuroo’s ears.

Kuroo gave him a nod. “That’s me! Sakusa Kiyoomi?”

Sakusa nodded while his dog gave Kuroo a perfunctory sniff before Sakusa turned and walked over to the entrance of the building.

Kuroo followed Sakusa up to his apartment. He was on the 7 th floor, and Kuroo was pretty sure his entire apartment floor (consisting of four apartments) wasn’t as big as one individual apartment in this place. That might have been an exaggeration, but  _ fuck  _ was this place huge.

Sakusa turned to let Hideko off the leash, and Hideko immediately bounded up to Kuroo to sniff him more thoroughly. He had gotten an introductory sniff earlier, but Kuroo had been too struck by Sakusa to really pay attention to Hideko.

Apologizing mentally for ignoring the puppo, Kuroo crouched down and started petting Hideko. “You’re such a good boy, Hideko. Hmm?”

Kuroo usually wasn’t self-conscious when meeting someone’s pets, but Sakusa had taken his mask off and was now  _ staring at Kuroo _ .

Sakusa was fucking gorgeous. Kuroo fucking knew it.

Kuroo straightened himself up after giving Hideko a good belly rub. He put on his best smile (smirk) and said, “Now, where would Satoshi be hiding?”

Sakusa remained straight faced, but he turned to venture further into the apartment.

Kuroo glanced around as he followed the other man. The apartment was an open floor plan, with a huge living room area that merged into the kitchen. Sakusa had a small table set up out of the way with two dining chairs, and there were two doors in the back.

Sakusa pointed to one and said, “That’s the bathroom.” He led Kuroo to the other one and opened the door to a bedroom. Satoshi, a black and white cat, was curled up on the comforter on the bed, snoozing away.

A smile was brought to Kuroo’s face. Satoshi looked comfy, and the bed looked inviting.

He tried not to let his thoughts drift to one-night stands and early morning regrets.

He would not fuck his client. He would not fuck his client. He would not fuck his client.

Sakusa turned to face Kuroo again. “If I’m not in the apartment, I usually leave Satoshi in here. There’s a door that leads into the bathroom so Satoshi has access to his litter box.” Sakusa pointed at the slightly opened door, where Kuroo saw the bathroom. “I have a bowl of water for him in there as well. Hideko tries to eat his food, so I don’t leave it out unless I am feeding both of them.”

Kuroo nodded. He took out his phone to make some notes. “Thank you for that information, Sakusa-san. I’ll remember to feed them at the same time.”

Sakusa nodded too, and they left the bedroom. Sakusa told him other things, like how Satoshi would take a while to warm up to him, and that Hideko liked to go to the park down the street and lap around it twice before coming home. Food allergies were noted, and Sakusa said that Kuroo can feed them human food, but he would rather Kuroo didn’t because otherwise they would start to beg. Sakusa also pointed out his camera that watched over the apartment in case an intruder broke in. Kuroo made notes of everything Sakusa said.

After Sakusa had given Kuroo a spare key, Kuroo leaned down to give Hideko another thorough pat before straightening himself up.

“I guess I’ll be seeing Hideko and Satoshi next Thursday then. Have a great week, Sakusa-san.”

Kuroo reached out to shake Sakusa’s hand, and Sakusa hesitated for a slight moment before grasping Kuroo’s hand firmly. “You as well, Kuroo-san.”

Kuroo left the apartment with the feeling of butterflies in his stomach, but he also noted how impeccably clean Sakusa’s apartment was. He took note of the slight hesitation before he touched Kuroo, and Kuroo thought maybe he should bring some hand sanitizer for next Thursday, just in case.

~*~*~*~

What Sakusa was doing wasn’t wrong…per say. It was his apartment after all. He had a security camera set up from the day he moved in, and he was missing Satoshi and Hideko. He just wanted to check on them. Plus, he  _ did _ tell Kuroo about the camera when he introduced the other man to his pets the previous week.

Bringing up the home camera app, Sakusa just took a peek. Kuroo was sitting on the floor in front of his couch with a laptop on Sakusa’s coffee table. A book bag that must have been Kuroo’s sat next to him. Kuroo had glasses on, and he was taking them off to rub at his eyes.

It was nearing 13:00, so Kuroo must have been there half the day at least. Hideko was curled up on the couch behind Kuroo with a ball hanging out of his mouth. Satoshi wasn’t in the video, but his camera angle didn’t allow for the bedroom or bathroom doors to be in the picture. Sakusa figured Satoshi was probably asleep in his room.

Kuroo stretched out his long legs and reached his arms upward in a stretch. Hideko’s head moved to follow the action, and Kuroo turned behind him to pet Hideko. Hideko jumped up from the couch, his tail wagging, and walked over to the door.

Kuroo stood from the floor and stretched again, his shirt riding up to show off a glimpse of skin before he straightened and fixed his clothing. He walked over to where Hideko was and grabbed the leash off of the hanging hook. The two left the apartment, and Sakusa felt satisfied that Kuroo was doing a good job of paying Hideko some attention.

He shut out of his home camera app and returned to his lunch. He ignored the niggling feeling of guilt that crossed his mind and focused on listening to Bokuto crow about Akaashi and their date the previous weekend.

It was fine. Kuroo was a good match to pet sit when Sakusa left for work, and Sakusa would absolutely not lust after the man. Not even if he was handsome and fit and looked good in just sweats and a t-shirt.

A Rover message later that afternoon prompted a second checkup.

Kuroo: Did you know that your cat is really smart? I mean like, incredibly intelligent?

Sakusa: Of course, Satoshi is smart. What made you decide this?

Kuroo: Okay, so I’m kind of slightly allergic to cats.

Kuroo: But I still love them!

Kuroo: I have allergy medications that I take too when I know I’m going to be cat sitting. Anyway, that’s not important.

Kuroo: What is important is that Satoshi, the smart little guy, amazed me today. He was kneading the blanket that I had over my lap while I was looking over some notes.

Kuroo: It must have moved while I wasn’t paying attention, because I feel this really sharp sensation on my thigh. Low and behold, Satoshi’s nails dug into me. I hissed out a breath because it stung, and it surprised me.

Kuroo: He stops kneading immediately, and he looks up at me. I swear we made eye contact. He then looks back at my thigh and kneads again, but nowhere near as hard as he did before. He looks back up at me, and I hiss out a small breath because my thigh still hurts from earlier.

Kuroo: He does it one more time, but even lighter. When he looks up at me again, I realize he might be testing something out. So, I hiss just a little.

Kuroo: This smart little guy, this incredibly intelligent kitty, looks back down at his paw and moves it to knead the blanket again. I don’t feel anything this time, so when he looked back up at me again, I don’t make any noise. He seems content and goes back to kneading the blanket.

Kuroo: Incredibly intelligent. So smart. I think I’m in love with your cat.

Sakusa: Yes, Satoshi is very considerate. Even more so after you feed him and pet him. He’s a little attention whore. You must have been petting him thoroughly for him to be considerate of you like that.

Kuroo: …I may have been petting him instead of working on schoolwork. His fur is so soft.

Sakusa: Like I mentioned, he’s an attention whore. Thank you again for looking out for my pets, Kuroo-san.

Kuroo: I feel honored. They’re both incredibly cute, and if you ever need me to watch them again, please feel free to reach out. Have a great rest of your day, Sakusa-san.

Sakusa: Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind. You as well, Kuroo-san.

Sakusa was able to wait a full ten minutes before he checked the home camera app. Kuroo was wiping down the counters in the kitchen as Hideko stood behind him wagging his tail. Satoshi was curled up on the couch on said blanket, and Kuroo turned to call Satoshi over. He deposited dog food into Hideko’s bowl and waited until Satoshi came to give him his wet food. It seemed that Satoshi really did warm up to Kuroo already.

Kuroo washed his hands after depositing the empty can into the trash. Sakusa tried not to notice that Kuroo washed his hands the proper way for 30 seconds before drying them off and using the dish towel to turn off the faucet.

But fuck if he wasn’t interested in learning more about this mysterious dog sitter.

His attention was drawn away again, and he left the app for a few hours.

When he returned, Kuroo was just walking in with Hideko. They must have just gone for their nightly walk.

Kuroo washed his hands as soon as he got back inside the apartment, and Sakusa was impressed again. Then, Kuroo pulled out a small container of miso soup and a box of sushi. He threw the plastic bag into recycling before walking over to eat at the dining table.

The feeling of being a creep crept up on Sakusa, and the man decided this was probably going too far.

He closed out of the app for the night, but his thoughts lingered with the mysterious pet sitter. He liked Kuroo so far. He wasn’t messy, and he washed his hands regularly. Cleanliness was important to Sakusa, and it was hard enough for Sakusa to let someone else enter his apartment. But he needed to for Hideko and Satoshi. He was impressed with Kuroo, and he would definitely be requesting the man more in the future.

~*~*~*~

The semester was coming to a close, and Kuroo was studying his ass off. He took less requests on Rover, limiting his availability to Thursdays and Saturdays only. Unfortunately, he lost a lot of clients by doing this, but he was too busy studying to be worried about it. He wasn’t going out anyway in preparation for finals and wrapping up his research proposal, so he didn’t need as much money unless it was for rent or food.

Fortunately for Kuroo, Sakusa recently put in a request to dog sit for an entire week. It was the week during his final exams, and Kuroo jumped at the chance to say yes. He was getting low on savings, and he absolutely was not taking Sakusa’s request because he was attracted to the man. He needed the money. That’s why he was taking Sakusa’s request. Obviously.

Sakusa had been regularly requesting Kuroo at least twice a month on Thursdays. Thursdays had become Sakusa’s day. Kuroo remembered one eventful week when Sakusa had requested his services but had gotten sick at the last moment.

_ Kuroo was visiting Hideko for his Thursday visit when he opened the door to find a pair of shoes sitting in the genkan. That was strange, but Kuroo didn’t pay it any mind when Hideko bounded up to him for pets. _

_ Kuroo crouched down and started cooing and petting the lively pup. He went to the fridge to put away his lunch before setting his backpack down on the couch and walking back over to the genkan to grab Hideko’s leash for their walk. That’s when he heard something from the bedroom. Thinking it was Satoshi, Kuroo waltzed over and opened the door, only to find Sakusa Kiyoomi rumpled and in bed. _

_ His eyes had widened as he stammered out his apologies, but Sakusa just glanced up with a hazed look in his eyes and a confused expression on his face until he whispered, “Ah, shit. It’s Thursday.” _

_ Apparently, Sakusa had come down with a nasty case of the flu and completely forgot to cancel Kuroo’s services. He apologized profusely before sneezing and slumping back against his headboard.  _

_ Kuroo chuckled and said, “I don’t think you’re up to walk Hideko. Don’t worry, Sakusa-san. I’ll take care of it.” _

_ Sakusa apologized again, saying, “I did mean to cancel your services today, Kuroo-san. I’m sorry you came out all this way.” _

_ “Hey, no. It’s fine. I’ll still take Hideko for his walks today. You just get some sleep, okay? It seems like the flu got the better of you.” _

_ “Ah, today has been the worst day.” Sakusa said as he scooted back down in bed to lay flat. _

_ “Rest easy, Sakusa-san.” Kuroo murmured, turning the lights off and shutting the bedroom door. He took Hideko on his walk, then he swung by a conbini for some medication and easy-to-heat soups. _

_ When he returned, Sakusa was curled up on the couch, and he raised an eyebrow at Kuroo’s grocery bags. _

_ Kuroo just gave him a smile. “Are you hungry? I can heat up some food while I’m here.” _

_ “You don’t need to, Kuroo-san.” _

_ “Ah, but I want to. That’s the difference.” _

_ Kuroo hadn’t taken ‘no’ for an answer, and thus the two were saddled together while they ate. They started asking each other questions about their lives. _

_ Kuroo was majoring in biochemical engineering and that took up most of his time. He roomed with his childhood friend, who was currently making YouTube videos and earning money gaming. _

_ Sakusa was majoring in behavioral psychology, but he was also playing volleyball on his university team. He had friends on a team in Osaka that were interested in him, and he would probably sign with the team if they offered him a position after tryouts. _

_ Kuroo had then blurted out, “That’s where I recognize you from!” _

_ Sakusa hadn’t let him get away without explaining, so the two discussed volleyball late into the evening. When Kuroo realized how late it had gotten, he apologized for keeping Sakusa awake so long. They ate dinner together before he took Hideko on a final walk. After he returned, he was packing up his school stuff when Sakusa stopped him. _

_ “You can sleep on the couch tonight if that suits your schedule. I feel bad preventing you from studying and keeping you here late. I promise I’m not a creep or anything. Just someone who doesn’t want you walking around in the city late at night.” _

_ Kuroo thanked him and ended up staying the night. In the morning, he was awoken by Hideko jumping on him. He let out a soft ‘Oof’ right before noticing Sakusa standing in the kitchen, hair wet, with no shirt on. _

_ Kuroo indulged himself by gazing at Sakusa’s strong back and thighs before he was jolted out of his thoughts by Sakusa turning to him with a smirk on his lips. “I feel much better this morning. Thank you for taking care of me last night, Kuroo-kun.” _

_ -kun. He used -kun. _

_ Kuroo was sure his face was red, but he stammered out a “It was nothing,” before excusing himself to the bathroom. Sakusa’s body wash and shampoo combo invaded his senses, and Kuroo was going to die; he liked this man so much. _

_ After Kuroo emerged from the bathroom, they ate breakfast together when Sakusa seemed to run out of energy again. He thanked Kuroo for taking Hideko on another walk that morning before climbing back into bed. Kuroo wished him a fast recovery before grabbing his things and heading to his university class. _

That had been the first time Kuroo tried lowering his daily rates for Sakusa, because he felt bad taking so much money from the other man twice a month, but Sakusa had not only tipped Kuroo nicely after that visit; he blatantly ignored the lowered prices and still gave him the initial negotiated amount. Kuroo didn’t bring it up again after Sakusa blatantly ignored his lowered rates.

This time, though, Kuroo would definitely be negotiating a lower rate with Sakusa. Apparently, Sakusa would be out of town for an entire week and requested Kuroo’s services.

Sakusa mentioned that Kuroo was welcome to stay at his apartment during said week. He would leave out clean sheets for Kuroo to use on the bed, and Sakusa plainly stated that Kuroo could make himself at home.

Kuroo was going to  _ die _ . Of course he accepted, but,  _ fuck _ , why was he accepting? Well, it was always easier to study at Sakusa’s apartment. The man lived in a quiet apartment complex. Kuroo’s own apartment was always loud with background noises, and it made it hard to study. Add in the fact that Kuroo would receive free cuddles from Hideko and Satoshi the entire week that Kuroo was going to be stressed to shit, well, it made accepting the request easy.

That’s all it was. He swears.

Fucking liar.

Somehow, Kuroo’s voice of common sense always sounded vaguely like Kenma and Akaashi. He blatantly ignored that though as he packed a week’s worth of clothing and his toiletries into an overnight bag. He made sure he had all of his schoolwork, laptop, and chargers in his backpack before locking his apartment and heading to Sakusa’s.

The trek to Sakusa’s place seemed to last forever, but when he was opening Sakusa’s door, it seemed to have passed by in the blink of an eye. He was not excited to be staying here for a week. That would be weird.

Fortunately, Hideko bounded up to Kuroo as soon as he opened the door, tongue hanging out and tail wagging. Thoroughly distracted from his traitorous thoughts, Kuroo leaned down to give Hideko all the pets. When he was finished, he set up his studying station for the next week.

As he predicted, Kuroo’s finals week was stressful as hell, but he was able to pull through. Hideko and Satoshi were a great help as he was forced to take regular study breaks which helped him de-stress, and he was able to nap for hours after his last final. The next two days, Kuroo was free to hang out with Hideko and Satoshi freely as he waited for the week to be over when Sakusa would come back from Osaka.

Sakusa and Kuroo began texting each other after they both discovered they were interested in volleyball, and they quickly began texting each other regularly about anything and everything. It was nice, and Kuroo’s lust attraction had turned into a proper crush. It helped that Hideko and Satoshi were so darn cute, and Kuroo loved them so much.

Sakusa mentioned that he would be gone for the week because the MSBY Black Jackals were holding tryouts, and Sakusa was invited to tryout. This was the team he had friends on, and Kuroo texted him encouragement throughout the week. Sakusa returned his texts with a “Good luck” for every final he had, and Kuroo couldn’t help but feel warm. Sakusa wasn’t a very affectionate person, but Kuroo would definitely say that Sakusa considered them friends too.

That was just reaffirmed when Sakusa asked him to stay in the apartment during the week. Sakusa was very clean and particular about his space, but he didn’t seem to mind letting Kuroo stay there the whole week. Kuroo made sure to keep it clean, so that it was spotless when Sakusa returned. The next two days flew by, and Kuroo was in the middle of a nap when Sakusa returned home.

~*~*~*~

Sakusa walked into the spotless apartment when he came back from Osaka. Hideko greeted him warmly before wandering off back to his bedroom. He followed his dog, only to stop short at the sight of a sleeping Kuroo on his bed.

‘Fuck, he looked good’ was Sakusa’s first thought to seeing Kuroo curled up on his side with his arm tucked under the pillow, smooshing his hair into its trademark spikes, and with the other arm tucked in front of his chest, holding another pillow.

Sakusa was tempted to run his fingers through Kuroo’s hair, but he held himself back. He didn’t want to wake the other man. Finals weeks were stressful, and Kiyoomi had his the week before his tryouts. Instead, he let Kuroo nap while he walked back into the living room to order them both some food. Kuroo was a fan of fish, and Sakusa was too.

After the food was ordered, Sakusa curled up on the couch with a book. When it was delivered, he plated the food onto two plates then poked his head back into his bedroom.

Kuroo was still asleep, and Satoshi was curled up on his back. Kuroo was laying on his front with his head squashed between two pillows. Sakusa chuckled at the sight when Kuroo started grumbling and moving around. His head popped up from beneath the pillows, and he turned his head at Sakusa’s chuckling.

“‘kusa-kun?”

“Good afternoon, Kuroo-kun.”

He blinked a few times before plopping his head back onto the pillows. Then it seemed like Kuroo’s brain woke up fully, and he jerked his head back up off the pillow. “Sakusa-san!”

“-kun is fine, Kuroo-kun. Actually, I’ve been meaning to tell you to call me ‘Kiyoomi’ for a while now.” Sakusa chuckled as Kuroo’s eyes widened. “That is on the condition I can call you ‘Tetsurou’. Can I?”

Kuroo nodded his head, and Sakusa smiled at him. The other man really was endearing.

“I ordered food for us. It’s ready if you feel up to eating.”

“Oh! Thank you, Sak-uh-Kiyoomi-kun!”

Satoshi must have tired from Kuroo’s jerking because he hopped off of Kuroo’s back before walking past Sakusa into the living room. Kuroo sat up and ruffled his hair, Sakusa’s eyes following the movement until Kuroo turned and got out of bed.

“How were tryouts?”

“They went well, I think. I was in the last remaining group, and they told us we would be contacted within the next two weeks if we were selected for the team.”

Kuroo flashed him a smile as Sakusa handed him his plate of food. “I think you made it!”

“Thank you. I hope so.”

“Were you able to visit your friends?”

Sakusa nodded as he sat down across from Kuroo at his small dining table. “I did. I stayed with one of them while I was there. Miya Atsumu has a big personality, but he and his brother really do know how to cook.”

“Ah, the Miya twins! Volleyball legends.”

Sakusa nodded. “Indeed.”

The two settled into their dinner and their discussion. Sakusa asked Kuroo how he thought his finals went, and Kuroo regaled Sakusa with stories of his two pets and what they did during the week.

Once again, the two conversed late into the night, and Sakusa offered Kuroo to stay the night again. Kuroo accepted, and Sakusa even offered for Kuroo to take the bed, but Kuroo adamantly refused, taking the couch with a firm, “It’s your apartment, and you just got back from a week away. Take your bed.”

So, the next morning, Sakusa decided to cook Kuroo breakfast. After Kuroo woke up, he thanked Sakusa by helping him with the dishes while Sakusa finished cooking.

Except the kitchen was much too crowded with two men who were 6 foot plus and who both worked out regularly. They brushed up against each other as they moved around the kitchen, and Sakusa was hyper aware of Kuroo the entire time. But...in a good way. He wasn’t worried about Kuroo touching him. He was more... _ wanting _ Kuroo to touch him. To brush against Sakusa’s back, his arms, wrap a hand around his bicep or around his waist…

He had been having these thoughts for a while if Sakusa was honest with himself.

While they haven’t been hanging out in person, Sakusa had spoken with Kuroo regularly for the past semester, and he trusted him with Hideko and Satoshi. A special bond of trust has been built between them. Sakusa was...well, he liked Kuroo. A lot.

Glancing over at Kuroo as he dried the dishes, he wondered if maybe there was something there for Kuroo too.

Kuroo glanced over at him, and their eyes met. A small smile grew on Kuroo’s face, and he pointed to the pan. “Omurice? A classic. My grandparents were actually the ones who taught me to cook, and omurice was the first breakfast thing I learned how to make.”

“I like you, Tetsurou-kun.” Sakusa blurted before he could stop himself.

Confusion appeared on Kuroo’s face first, quickly followed by a light blush. “Uh...Kiyoomi-kun? What...how do you mean that?”

Sakusa glanced back at the pan. It was done cooking. All he needed to do was add the ketchup on top. He removed it from the burner and turned the stovetop off before turning to Kuroo fully.

“I...I think we are friends, yes?”

Kuroo nodded in agreement, so Sakusa continued.

“I like you. As more than a friend. I would like to try...dating. If you want the same.”

It wasn’t the best confession speech, but it was one that brought a smile to Kuroo’s face anyway.

“I, uh, feel the same, Kiyoomi-kun. I have for a while now. I would very much like that.”

Sakusa felt a smile find its way to his own lips. “Good.”

Kuroo smiled back at him and stepped closer. “You…” Kuroo reached up slowly and brushed a curl from in front of Sakusa’s face to tuck behind his ear.

Sakusa’s breath caught in his throat when Kuroo’s hand strayed to tilt his chin a little. “Can I kiss you?”

The breathless, “Yes,” was whispered into the air between them right before Kuroo brought his own lips against Kiyoomi’s to press them together.

Sakusa’s heart was beating a fast rhythm, one that he felt Kuroo’s heart echoing when he pressed his hand to Kuroo’s chest.

The kiss was unbearably sweet, just like their budding relationship in the days, weeks, and months to follow. And years down the lane, when the two of them were living together in Osaka - Hideko and Satoshi curled up on either side of them as they sat on the couch - their kisses were a perfect echo of their first one. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! :D


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